Folding machine for paper



May 5, 1959 R. c. o. SILLEN FOLDING MACHINE FOR PAPER 4'S heets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 25, 1956 y 1959 R. c. o. SILLEIN 2,885,205

FOLDING MACHINE FOR PAPER Filed Jan. 25, 1956 2 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 3mm V y 1959 R. c. o. SILLEN 2,885,205

FOLDING MACHINE FOR PAPER Filed Jan; 23, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Flg. 5 v

/Y L I A May 5, 1959 Filed Jan. 23, 1956 V R. c. o. SILLEN FOLDING MACHINE FOR PAPER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FOLDING MACHINE FOR PAPER Rutger Carl Oscar Silln, Hedemora, Sweden Application January 23, 1956, Serial No. 560,796

Claims priority, application Sweden February 28, 1955 6 Claims. (Cl. 270-86) The present invention refers to folding arrangements for paper and concerns particularly a folding device for paper bundles consisting of many sheets and comprising a back or dorsal bar and two sets of guiding members meeting at the dorsal bar and at the one end of the same, the introducing end, forming substantially a 180 angle while, at the other end, the removing end, they form an angle getting continuously smaller. Such a type of a folding device has been greatly used for folding continuous paper webs, where the paper web has been fed over the folding device as a continuous belt by pulling. When, e.g., folding paper stacks or bundles for newspapers or a certain kind of magazines the paper web will generally, after its folding in the above manner, be fed into a rotating cuttingand folding device, in which further folding will be eifected. Behind said device there will in many cases be arranged a receiving box, in case no further folding is desired. Sometimes it is, however, desirable to fold the paper once more in order to obtain a smaller size of the newspaper or magazine or the like. For this purpose the cut bundle has, as a rule, after the folding action in said rotating cuttingand folding device, been fed in a path, where at a certain place a folder, moving up and down, has effected a folding of the bundle in its centre. In this case several bundles may have been placed one on top of the other to form a thicker bundle.

One object of the invention is to provide for a folding device for paper bundles or stacks, i.e. interrupted paper webs, the device operating fully continuously. Another object of the invention is to enable an improved fixing of the separate paper sheets in the pile, one relative to the other, as well as to improve the attachment of the sheets to one another after the usual pasting to the back of the finished magazine or book.

The folding device according to the invention is characterized by a pin carrier running along the dorsal bar from the introducing end to the removing end and having pins spaced in the running direction, directed towards the dorsal bar, and arranged to penetrate a paper pile situated between the dorsal bar and the pin carrier, so that the pile will in this way be transported along the dorsal bar, when the pin carrier is moving. At the dorsal bar there is preferably arranged a longitudinal groove for the pins projecting from the pin carrier, so that the paper pile will be carried by the dorsal bar on either side of the row of pins having penetrated the paper bundle.

The invention will now be described with reference to an embodiment, shown by way of example in the annexed drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal partially sectioned view of the folding device of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side-elevation of the feeding portion thereof;

Figs. 3-5 are cross-sectional views taken along lines 33, 44 and 55 of Fig. 1, respectively;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the discharge mechanism of the device;

States Patent 0 Fig. 7 is a perspective view of receiving platethereof; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of a detail of Fig. 5.

On a number of holders 1, which are supported by a fundamental plate or beam 3, the dorsal or backbar 5 is mounted. The dorsal bar has a longitudinal groove 7, which in the embodiment shown is milled upon the upper surface of the bar 5 to form two projecting ribs. Over two end rolls 9 and 11 at the introducing end 13 and removing end 15 of the dorsal bar, respectively, there is arranged an endless belt pin carrier 17. The pin carrier supports a row of pins 19 so spaced, than an effective feeding of the paper bundles is ensured, and pref erably so close that every bundle 16 will simultaneously be penetrated by at least 4 or 5 pins. The pin carrier will be urged downwardly towards the dorsal bar 5 by means of the rolls 21 and 23, the latter. of which is'placed at the removing end of the dorsal bar 5. The pin carrier runs parallel with the dorsal bar 5 up to the roll 23 after which the pin carrier forms a slight angle with the dorsal bar by the fact that the end roll 11 is located at a somewhat higher level than roll 23. At the removing end 15 of the dorsal bar is a removing bar 27, arranged to move a bundle of paper sheets penetrated and held by a pin 19 away from the pin carrier at the portion thereof diverging from the dorsal bar 5 after the roll 23. The removing bar 27 must, of course, be ar ranged to extend between the pin carrier '17 and the paper bundle transported by the same. The removing bar 27 (as shown in Fig. l) is fixed relative and parallel to and spaced from the dorsal bar 5 so that as the pin carrier moves upwardly around end roll 11 the bundle will be maintained in engagement with the dorsal bar to assist in removal of the pins 19 from the bundle. The pin carrier may consist of an endless chain instead of an endless belt, if desired.

For the feeding of the continuously fed but discontinuous paper bundles into the folding device there is positioned at the introducing end 13 of the dorsal bar adjacent the pin carrier 17 a feeder roll 29, provided with a circumferential groove 31, into which the pins of the pin carrier 19 may extend, when they penetrate the paper pile during the feeding action. The shaft of the feeding roll 29 is attached to a source of power and, in turn, drives the pin carrier and the whole conventional transmission means, such as belt or pulleys or chain and chain wheels. Between the feeding roll and the dorsal bar 5 are pivotally arranged several guide girders 33, as will be explained in greater detail below.

A bundle 16 of paper sheets in the flat state is fed, as illustrated more particularly in Fig. 2, in between pairs of endless lower and upper bands 18 and 20, respectively. The lower bands are passed over roll 12, the feeder roll 29 and a roll 14 at a lower level than feeder roll 29. The upper bands 20 are passed over rolls 22 outside the feeder roll 29 and a roll 24 placed inside of feeder roll 29 so that band 20 will be pressed slightly against feeder roll 29. The bundle 16 is fed from the feeder roll 29 to the introducing end 13 of the dorsal bar 5 which is centrally located with respect to the longitudinal axis of the bundle. The pins 19 depending from the carrier 17 pierce the bundle along the central axis when in position on top of feeder roll 29 and transport the same first over girders 33 pivoted about shaft 28 and forming a bridge between roll 29 and the dorsal bar 5 and further along the dorsal bar 5. Thus the central portion of the longitudinally-moving bundle is supported by the dorsal bar 5 and the lateral edges of the sheets are supported by boards (not shown) until they are taken, as will be best seen in Figs. 35, by spaced guide rods 8 positioned beneath the dorsal bar 5 and carried by holders 1 and 2.

r 3 a g to =Wvely bring the ends of the of the bundlej together so that the sheets are folded about the dorsal bar 5 as the bundle is transported the introducing endl3 to the removing end 15.

fluid! rods are substantially in a horizontal plane the in edellbther at the discharge end of the bar.

The folding operation performed in the defice dc Wm be completed and the folded piles conveyed further by means of a number of conveyor belts 39 carried by rollers on arms 38 and converging over rolls aloud rolls 3'! to a receiving plate 41 carried by holder 42 and and leading the folded piles of a stock pile 43. During the transport the backs of thefolded becompressed by the upper portion 34 of the rollsfld; The conveyor rollers or rolls are driven by a 45, 25 by means of a belt or the likefrom the shaft of the roll 23. i

What I is: i v

it 5 device for a bundle ofpaper sheets in an y comprising a stationary dorsal bar havan introducing end and a removal end, a movable pin meantime above said bar and substantially paraltheretmmid pin carrier having a direction of movetotbe bar from said introducing end tolaid removalend, a plurality of pins depending said carrier in the vertical plane of said dorsal bar. for feeding the bundle to the introducing end of and causing the central longitudinal axis the bundleto be verticallypierced by several of said ins so thatsaid pins will convey the central portion of the bundle along the dorsal bar, and guide members below and on either side of said dorsal bar, said guide memend of said dorsal bar and converge here being at substantially right angles and inclined to the horizontal plane adjacent the introducing end of the bar and converging toward each other progressively toward the removal end of the bar, said guide members serving to progressively fold the bundle downwardly about said dorsal bar as the bundle is transported thereacross by the pins of the pin carrier.

2. A folding device as defined in claim 1 wherein said pin carrier comprises an endless belt.

3. A folding device as defined in claim 2 wherein said dorsal bar has a longitudinal groove in the upper surface thereof adapted to slidably receive and guide the ends of the pins which pierce the bundle.

4. A folding device as definedlin claim 3 and further including a remover member adjacent the removal end of said dorsal bar for separating a bundle penetrated by the pins from said pins.

5. A folding device as defined in claim 3 wherein said bundle feeding means comprises a feed roller adjacent the introducing end of said dorsal bar and having a circumferential groove therein adapted to receive the free ends of the pins projecting from said pin carrier.

6. A folding device as defined in claim 5 and including presser conveyors adjacent the discharge end of said dorsal bar for pressing together the folded portions of the bundle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 589,083 Hart Aug. 31, 1897 612,957 Sheldon Oct. 25, 1898 1,085,537 Burgess et al Jan. 27, 1914 

